European mobile voucher startup tests Dubai's market

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With daily deals potentially on the
decline, the time might be ripe for a return to basic
coupons; TWOFORONE
GO is a new mobile platform focusing on just that: simple,
two-for-one deals, at restaurants, spas, and outlets in Denmark and
Dubai.

Now, TWOFORONE GO might be hoping to take a slice of its market.
After working for several years in the U.S. with an entertainment
and coupons book company, Swedish entrepreneur Robert Meza decided
to launch the mobile platform for iPhone and Android users in early
last year.

While he launched in Denmark as well, he moved his headquarters to
Dubai following advice from his investors, who are also located in
the UAE. “We came last summer to test the market and see if there
would be a demand for the product,” says Meza. “We had very good
feedback and response from customers and merchants, so we moved
here full time in September.”

Since then, over 7,000 users have joined
the free platform, and the Dubai-based team of ten is seeing around
800 new users per day since their launch, he says. They
have 300 merchants signed on in both Dubai and Denmark, and
are beginning to expand in Europe and the Gulf.

Rather than go for Riyadh, their next target is Stockholm, where
they’ve recruited over 100 merchants and also have a sales team.
“Depending on the results, we might expand the model in the Middle
East as well,” he says.

How it works

Customers pay for specific offer packages at a range of prices and
styles. In Dubai, their most expensive package, which includes all
680 of their offers, costs AED 199 (US $55) for a year’s
subscription. TWOFORONE GO also offers the occasional free
selection for the first 5,000 redeemers, in order to boost word of
mouth marketing. Users can pay via the app or by credit card.

When a user wishes to redeem an offer, they
simply click on the offer and have a specific time limit within
which to show the merchant a voucher. For restaurants, a deal is
active for 15 minutes which is presumably enough time to pay your
bill. After time is up, the deal is marked as redeemed and can’t be
reused. This means that users can plan ahead, based upon a deal's
availability, but only have a moment to actually redeem it.

Their most popular deals are at restaurants
and spas, and the reason Meza focuses on two-for-one deals, as
others have, is simply that the social aspect makes it popular.
“The whole thing with having two-for-one deals is that we’re
encouraging people to be social as well; not to go out alone, but
to go out with friends and share the experience,” he explains.

From Dubai to
Europe

When it comes to competition like The Entertainer, Meza insists
that printed books and other mobile coupon platforms don’t compare
to what he offers as far as number of deals and user interface,
which he's built based on customer feedback.

He also notes that Dubai is an increasingly
strong base for startups from Europe to test and expand. “I’d
recommend a move to Dubai,” Meza says, emphatically. "But remember
that entrepreneurship is not so easy; one day you have the best day
of your life, the next day you have no idea how you’ll make it –
it’s a roller coaster.”

Yet, again, the team is looking to expand
into Europe rather than the Arab world. While they may launch in
Abu Dhabi, “We have to do a little more research and
prototyping to see what the next country in the Gulf will be," says
Meza. "But for now we’ll look towards Europe.”